The offense.... it's Brunell.

[webdev71]

The focus of this game will be Portis, Ladell and possibly even the "Rock". We will know early in the game what to expect from our Skins.

If our defense (Griffen, Salavae) establishes that strong push up the middle we'll slow down Bledsoe. With that said we must contain the outside run over tackle. That has killed us in the past. Dallas will test us early running (KC, Denver, Giants, San Diego). If we respond defensively we can win this off of John Hall's leg. It would be a bonus if Brunell and company can give us at least seven. Our defense is our best hope. Oh yeah and the secret weapon A. Brown and the special teams. But be afraid if it comes down to Frost and his punting.

[Aghar]

But be afraid if it comes down to Frost and his punting.

*shivers* :doh:

[playoffsplz]

excellent post, i think a lot of us have the same thoughts on the offense as you but were afraid to post without being considered a HATER. Your heart pulls you one way but its pretty obvious our offense isnt a tough case to crack. Like i said earlier in the week, if we dont make some kind of adjustment (which we wont because im about 90% sure Gibbs believes

what what the offense is doing is actually working) a coach like Parcells will have a field day with us. Honestly I be impressed if we score 10 this weekend...as much as it really pains me to say it:mad:

[Lifetime]

I really dont understand how some can be calling for a double digit defeat this game. I mean, are we playing the Colts or the Cowboys? Everyone for obvious reasons, tends to look at how were playing. For ****s and giggles, take a look how they are playing. They needed a flea-flicker, a reverse and a defensive holding call to beat the chiefs at home at week. Before that game they had lost back to back against Denver and Newyork. Thats not saying we've played the best football we can but niether are they. I see this game coming down to turnovers (as most games do, between to evenly matched teams) and special teams. Injuries or no injuries this game is by no means decided.

[Oldfan]

Seattle, Denver, Kansas City, San Francisco and Tampa Bay...our offense looked good in these games. That's five out of thirteen. In eight others, it has not appeared to be playoff caliber.

For those of you who rely on stats, combine Brunell's Q-back rating in those five games and compare it to his combined rating in the eight others.

We have played a stronger schedule than most teams. However, only two of those teams we faced, Chicago and Tampa Bay have better defenses than offenses. So, we can't adjust our offensive performance because of strength of schedule. Rather it's our defense that has played even better than it would first appear.

Gibbs and staff made good use of the bye week and came out strong against Seattle, Mark Brunell benefitted from a good plan and played like an all-pro for four games. After the Giants game, the only strong offensive game we've had was against Tampa Bay.

Defenses have adjusted and are forcing us to try to do things we aren't good at. Mark Brunell has looked like a bum at times during this stretch.

Since Gregg williams arrived, defense has been this teams strength and so we have hope against Dallas. But, I think we need a different offensive scheme for next year, one that doesn't require a HOF offensive line to make it work.

[GSF]

Die Hard,

I have been wondering about a lot of the things you've posted here for several weeks now. For whatever reason, Brunell appears to be unable to make the throws, and in the last 2 games hasn't even tried. People have been complaining about Gibbs being too conservative, but I think he's been protecting Brunell for several weeks now. Here's a thread I started last week about this subject:

http://www.extremeskins.com/forums/showthread.php?t=130651&highlight=Brunell

We've all watched Coach Gibbs go into hyper-conservative mode over the last 4 games, trying to sit on 7 point leads with over a quarter left to play. Many of us, including myself I admit, have asked, what is he doing? Can he not see what's going on here?

Thinking about it, Gibbs was far from conservative against the Broncos and Chiefs, so why now? Looking at the last 4 games, Brunell has barely thrown a pass downfield. Guys have been covered, but even when they've been open, he's been checking down. The only deep ball he threw all game yesterday was well short, but Moss made an excellent play going back for the ball.

All of this seems to coincide with Brunell hurting his hammy a few weeks ago. Anyone else notice how much the offense has looked like last year's offense in recent weeks, just a little better.

I think Gibbs is protecting Brunell, like last year. I think he's avoiding going down field b/c he does not want to expose the fact the Brunell is playing hurt, and might not be able to make the throws. He's still thrown a couple of long balls to Jacobs and Moss to keep the defense honest, but Brunell really hasn't been able to hit those. Almost all of the other throws have been short to the sides. I can't remember throwing a deep out for several games now.

I could be wrong here. Obviously this is a bit of a guess, but it is the only explanation I can come up with to the continued ultra conservative play, even when his players have told him they need to keep attacking. I think Gibbs is just trying to put as little pressure on Brunell as possible, hoping Mark can get healthy again to finish out the season. The less throws the better.

What worries me about this is that the Giants and Cowboys will see this watching film. They are going to stack up bigtime against us an make Brunell beat them. If he can't make the throws we're going to be in big trouble in those games. OTOH, if Brunell can get back to his early season form, I think we can win both of those games b/c both the Pukes and the Giants have been inconsistent on offense in recent weeks, giving up a lot of turnovers.

Brunell's health and play is really the key if we're going to make a run.

Thoughts?

I agree with you that Brunell is done. I don't know if he's hurt, or his arm is just dead, but he doesn't look anything like the guy slinging it around against Denver and KC. I also agree that Campbell will be the guy next year, Brunell the back up, and Pat will be elsewhere.

The dissappointing part about this for me is that, while I think we will be good next year, I don't think it will be "our year" with a rookie QB. With Gibbs running a smashmouth offense, and only relying on Campbell to play smart and make a few key throws, how long do you think it takes the Skins to be realistic Superbowl contenders with Campbell at QB? 2 seasons?

It's a real shame b/c if Brunell could get back to where he was 6 weeks ago I think we could make some real noise.

[Aghar]

Do any of you realize what you are saying when you say start Campbell next season?!? :doh: I agree, Brunell is playing rough....but to say we will put our faith in an unproven QB from Auburn that had one good college season ( with the help from TWO top RBs ) makes me want to cry about next season!

:doh: *shiver* :doh:

Enough of that...back to REAL LIFE! This week!

:wewantd: :point2sky

[Skins11]

If Brunell is hurt, then it just seems irresponsible to play him. He was hurt last year, and we only beat crappy teams like the Bears and Lions due to our running game. Sound familiar? We BARELY beat these teams just like we barely beat the Cardinals. Even if Gibbs thinks Ramsey is too mistake-prone, he is probably better than a gimpy, injured Brunell. We witnessed this exact thing firsthand last year.

If he's too injured, pull him, and rest him for a game or something.

[GSF]

If Brunell is hurt, then it just seems irresponsible to play him. He was hurt last year, and we only beat crappy teams like the Bears and Lions due to our running game. We BARELY beat these teams just like we barely beat the Cardinals. Even if Gibbs thinks Ramsey is too mistake-prone, he is probably better than a gimpy, injured Brunell. We witnessed this exact thing firsthand last year.

If he's too injured, pull him, and rest him for the playoffs if we happen to make it.

If he is hurt, then I would agree with this. I don't know that he is, just guessing as to why his play declined so quickly.

[RedzoneHunter]

No doubt, Mark is not using his weapons to his advantage. Quite the opposite, he has become his own worst enemy. I sure hopes he starts spreading it around before it's too late, and I don't mean a dump off to Royal or Portis. He needs to get the other receivers involved.

Listen! Listen!

Can you hear the footsteps of the not too distant future? I can almost hear Jason Campbell getting ready to take the field. He's only one loss away!

[Skins11]

If he is hurt, then I would agree with this. I don't know that he is, just guessing as to why his play declined so quickly.

It do think that Gibbs has been calling more basic plays due to Brunell's supposed injury. Our pass offense has sucked since the Raider game. Coincidentally, Brunell got hit HARD in that game before halftime, and he hasn't looked the same since. I wonder if that's when everything went downhill? We scored 0 points in the second half of that game, and Brunell was playing pretty well before that....

A question for someone with game tape access - was the playcalling earlier in the season that much more inventive/unconservative than it is now? Or is it the same playcalling as before, but defenses have figured it out now?

[BillyKilmer]

your a Great Web site owner/host/poster Die Hard and some of what you say may have merit But the day i take your observations over Joe Gibbs coaching is the day I wear a Dallas cowgirl Uniform

[GSF]

It do think that Gibbs has been calling more basic plays due to Brunell's hypothetical injury. Our pass offense has sucked since the Raider game. In that game, Brunell got hit HARD. I wonder if that's when everything went downhill? He was playing pretty well before that....

A question for someone with game tape access - was the playcalling earlier in the season that much more inventive/unconservative than it is now? Or is it the same playcalling as before, but defenses have figured it out now?

I the games with Seattle, Denver, and KC, I think we used a lot more multiple wr sets with 3 guys or more in patterns. We even used a little bit of 4 and 5 wides, but now it's almost all max protect with 2 guys in patterns, just like early last year. I know that we're shorthanded, but Gibbs has just about completely shut down the offense. If we can't open it up a lit, and mix it up, no way we win out.

[The Full Monty]

I suggest everyone pull up skinfanatic's highlights of the Denver and Kansas City games...the playcalling is cut-throat and Brunell's throws are INCREDIBLE.

[GSF]

I suggest everyone pull up skinfanatic's highlights of the Denver and Kansas City games...the playcalling is cut-throat and Brunell's throws are INCREDIBLE.

Yeah, but why can't we do it now?

[Skins11]

I suggest everyone pull up skinfanatic's highlights of the Denver and Kansas City games...the playcalling is cut-throat and Brunell's throws are INCREDIBLE.

We were playing from behind in those games though... although, we were also playing from behind for most of the game on Sunday...

So why can't we do the same thing now? Maybe it's a combination of Brunell wearing down, receivers' injuries, and Gibbs scaling back as a result of both of these.

Or, on a more positive note, maybe it's because the D is playing better now, and Gibbs can afford to play closer to the vest?

[arkowi]

The Raiders and Chargers losses and our wins vs. the Rams and Cards look eriely similar to Brunell at the helm post injury (most of the season) last year.

By this I mean, not putting up enough points to win. Short throws. 3rd down passes just short of the marker, etc.

[Ghost of]

I stand by the idea (and I never relented on this) that while I was happy for Brunell's (short-lived) improvement, that we'd have been better off with the other guy. Many expressed the concern Brunell would wear down or slip into old habits. Dude is not a pocket passer, the fact he had a few games where he was is an aberration as far as his Washington career is concerned. The overly deep drops, the backpedaling to give pass rushers a STRAIGHT LINE, the looking at the rush and not downfield, the locking onto one receiver (not just for a particular receiver on a given play, but the same one, play in and play out) it was all there from jump. The boost Mark got from throwing the two TDs to Moss has dissipated.

Now he's only a little better than last year and I'd remind you that he could have been replaced some time ago to give Pat or even Jason some time to get acclimated. Patrick did better with a similarly conservative(even including roll-outs and half rolls) game plan last year.

It's funny how everyone will engage in the mental acrobatics to justify anything Gibbs does (but far fewer than before) or to forgive Mark Brunell's lackluster efforts and FEAR, but when it was the other guy, these same cowards couldn't be more critical (except cats like Bubba, who back the team in either circumstances or Om who is even-handed, I know he'd back Patrick if things happened out differently.)

[SlobberKnockinFootball]

Since this thread has referred to the play calling as one of the issues. Let me ask the guys who've been around in our glory days a question about offensive playcalling.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Gibbs back in the day have a almost 3-4 new plays every game?? I remember watching as a kid and saying, i've never seen that before.. that was cool. Am I right about this?

The reason I bring this up because I don't see that anymore with Gibbs. Once in a while we see something but it was very constant back in the 80's and 90's that he'd have about 3 or 4 new plays that the other team hasn't seen before. It just seems we are running the same set of plays with a few sprinkled in every 2 to 3 games.

Thoughts?

[arkowi]

Now he's only a little better than last year and I'd remind you that he could have been replaced some time ago to give Pat or even Jason some time to get acclimated. Patrick did better with a similarly conservative(even including roll-outs and half rolls) game plan last year.

Nibbs, agree 100%

[mookie0720]

Gibbs is an execution coach...he does not use the element of surprise as much as I like..but he believes if your the best..you'll go out there and execute..

This is the problem.

There are too many great players and great athletes in today's NFL for this to work.

You have to be creative, you have to keep people off balance, and you have to take them by surprise, especially in the passing game.

This is a league of parity because of the fact that there are so many great players/athletes, many more than in Gibbs' first era.

Along with the developments in technology such as advanced film studies, tendencies, etc...it is more integral than ever that you be creative offensively.

Gone are the days where we can line up, with the opposing team knowing exactly what we're going to do, and be successful.

Gibbs has not adapted to this part of the game yet, and I fear that he never will.

[jrockster21]

Yeah, but why can't we do it now?

This is the question SkinsHokiesFan asked 7 or 8 pages ago, and I repeated 5 pages ago...but DH has yet to answer.

"Crushed" is relative right? I mean, Dallas can drive 90 yards and then fumble on the Redskins 1-yard line. You can rack up 450 yards of offense and score 13 points... because of turnovers. Is that getting crushed? Or is only the score indicative of the reflection of the game.

Myself, I thought in our victory over Dallas... the Redskins got crushed. They were down 13 points... and for all intents and purposes.... should have lost by 13 points. Double digits.

If not for 3 desparation plays.... Brunell's huge run on 4th and forever.. and 2 Santana Moss bombs... we got killed in that game.

The score won't reflect being "crushed".

But I've been on teams where that's been the case.... and I'm not exactly fearing my opponent the next time I see them either

The difference between winning 14-13 and say... losing 36-0 to the Giants.... was exactly 3 plays. That's how badly the Redskins played.

Now, go figure, I thought the team played awesome in their 36-35 loss to the Bucs.

Are you serious??? We held Dallas to 13 points in a tremendous defensive performance. In case you forget, the only way they could get a touchdown was on a trick play...and since you're so quick to negate anything positive about our special teams TD, truly a trick play is just as bad.

I'm surprised at the negativity, DH. What I'm more surprised at is your unwillingness to answer any questions that could potentially poke holes in your theory. You just seem to be all doom & gloom...

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. I feel bad for you...I don't think you're becoming a chicken little, but your lack of confidence and your intent to spread it to the rest of us, well...if it looks like a chicken and quacks like a chicken...you know why AJ_Skins is so berated on this board? Because he refuses to argue the points that poke holes in his theories, or makes up lies to defend them. Now you wouldn't lie, but you aren't defending your point of view, which is a little shady. Not that you have to...I mean you were "The Man" for however many years.

Why don't you respond to what I posted ? These two teams are almost statistically identical -- this game will come down to who wants it, nothing more, nothing less. Just as every Skins/Cowgirls game in the history of the rivalry has done, this will come down to the who ****ing wants the game. The Cowboys have been just as crappy as the Skins the past 5-6 years, but still whomped on us. They are just as good as we are this year. Brunell is looking older as the year goes on, especially because he is getting hit more frequently.

[DCsportsfan53]

I the games with Seattle, Denver, and KC, I think we used a lot more multiple wr sets with 3 guys or more in patterns. We even used a little bit of 4 and 5 wides, but now it's almost all max protect with 2 guys in patterns, just like early last year. I know that we're shorthanded, but Gibbs has just about completely shut down the offense. If we can't open it up a lit, and mix it up, no way we win out.

The problem is, our 2nd and 3rd recievers aren't playing. Makes it a little difficult to go 4 WR, especially when there were only 4 on the roster to begin with. That's something that was curious to me before the season. We only had 4 WRs and 4 CBs to start the season. Now we're down to 2 WR and some guys off the street and 2 CBs. The scariest part is that 2nd CB is Ade Jimoh. Right now, Prioleau is our nickel corner.

[Bonez3]

I suggest everyone pull up skinfanatic's highlights of the Denver and Kansas City games...the playcalling is cut-throat and Brunell's throws are INCREDIBLE.

Look at Philly, which I argue is his best game of the season. The accuracy displayed and smart decisions were epic. A 'career night' as they would say. One he will probably remember as being not statiscally amazing but playing an amazing game.

Look at Oak. lousy day, yes, But gets his clock cleaned losing part of his helmet efforting for a team win. Shows alot, period

Look at SD, a rather good game that would have been great minus a couple drops.

TB- nuff said.

Ari.- Well obviously Zona did some things they weren't expecting. Gibbs made this pretty clear and so did Brunell. This one I put on Gibbs, he was caught by surprise by the scheme. What did he do. Went to the run and a more conservative pass attack. How was the passing in the 2nd half. Well, not electric but pretty darn efficient. Still, showed his sac, period. (Not suggesting anyone else doesn't have grit)

Just call it how it is. Brunell is Brunell. If anyone on our squad could do NOTICEABLY better, they would be starting. As it is, even if all others are equal or even SLIGHTLY better (b/c as I mentioned, nobody is vastly better), I like Brunell back there.

[The Sisko]

For a 1st post ...........you came strong! Congrats!!!

Wow, I didn't notice that was his first post. I hereby nominate him for RPOY(Rookie Poster of the Year).